Virtuous Pursuit of Excellence
by Some Guy 329756789-01A
Summary: When Danny gets invited to Xavier's School for the Gifted after two years of saving Amity, How will this change him? how will this change the world? No Phantom Planet, Rated M for safety and possible future racy stuff.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing save the words put intot he order they are. And ocne I post this? I don't even own those. I'm lucky just to own a laptop.

A/N: Yes, I know, another Danny Phantom story. I don't care. I'm on a Danny Phantom kick at the moment. This one's a full-out story and x-over to boot. Go figure. It's mostly a side-pice to my ongoing project to When Did This Happen? But... Watch me care. I love Marvel. Especially X-Men. So here we go. No crazy pairing in this one, really. Just me being a psycho and wanting to write **something** so long as it's not another lemon, as I am currently horribly tempted to do with WDTH. Not to say there wont be lemons here, just not the intent. No Phantom Planet, because it fucks with my story. /End of Line

You know. A well-known comic-character once said that all it would take to drive someone completely insane was one REALLY bad day. One bad day to show one the nature of the universe as a particularly bad joke. A colossal gag made in poor taste at the best of times. Danny was pretty sure he'd gone round the twist more than once in the course of his young life. He was barely 16 and he'd managed to save his home town several times from an ancient Ghostly monarch who wanted to subjugate the whole world and it's ectoplasmic counterpart, his own future self, the Ghost of Sleep trying to put the whole world asleep, and an overgrown fern that would make another comic villain green with envy.

So when a redhead woman, a bald guy, and a woman with hair that almost made him do a double take and wonder if she was half-ghost as well showed up at his door? He took it all with his usual laid-back acceptance of the strange and unusual.

"Hello, Daniel." the bald guy in the wheelchair said in a pleasant conversational tone.. Which didn't stop Danny from interrupting.

"Please. Call me Danny. Only people I don't like call me Daniel." Visions of Vlad flashed in his mind.

"Ah, yes." The bald guy nodded, "My apologies, Young Mister Fenton. I tend to prefer formal address, and shortened names do not fall into that category." he smiled kindly. "We are here because after some recalibration to our system, we have identified you as a person of interest to my school. I run a school for extraordinary young people with special abilities beyond the normal capacity for humanity." he explained.

Danny had heard the rumors. Mutants. Anti-mutant sentiments were growing almost constantly since they were first discovered. More often than not? In sleepy little towns like Amity park? They were considered just rumors or fear-mongering from the government. He nodded, though, to hear the guy out.

"We have come to believe that you might be among the group of people we usually try to recruit for my school. This is Jean Grey and Ororo, some of our teachers." he introduced the two women with him.

Danny looked the two over, taking in details like the non-hostile stances they both took... one deliberately, though if she was a teacher he could finally understand the phrase 'hot for teacher,' and the younger because it didn't look like she HAD any kind of offensive stance. He nodded again before beginning to speak, "Well, I'm sorry to say you have the wrong person, Sir." he said. "I'm not extraordinary. Ask my teachers. I'm barely scraping by with a D average." he chuckled.

"Then you are not the aptly named 'Danny Phantom' of Amity Park?" the bald man asked.

And that's when Danny's brain shut down. All possible answers were swirling before him mentally and in each scenario? They fell apart. Seriously. He'd never actually been confronted with an accusation like that. He'd managed to get away with misdirection at best and some bad acting which, thanks to the negligence of most adults in the city, managed to work out.

"Mister Fenton, My name is Charles Xavier, and I am a psychic along with Jean. And you are currently broadcasting your thoughts loud enough I'd be amazed if Ororo couldn't pick them up." he says in as gentle a tone as he could manage. "Yes. We are aware of your life as a 'superhero' in this city, and while I will assure you that we do not yet know how your mutation functions, you are a mutant."

Danny had to sit down, at this point. "So... What, exactly, would this entail?" he asked. "I mean, I can't just up and leave. Amity Park is my home. I've got friends here."

Charles nodded, "Indeed. But at the same time, this is an opportunity to explore what your mutation is capable of in an environment where you need not keep it a secret from those around you. And without the strings attached that certain parties might apply." Charles' mind flashed to Erik, while Danny's went to Vlad and they both nodded, a silent understanding of the natures of such people. Vlad had been quiet for nearly a year now, ever since his failed bid to claim the Crown of Fire and the Ring of Rage had failed so spectacularly, and Magneto had been suspiciously quiet of late.

"So. You say there are no strings. What about monetary compensation?" he asked. "I doubt your school is here in Amity, leading me to the conclusion that it's a boarding school. Those aren't cheap."

Danny had to think on it. He couldn't just pick up and leave, especially not with his parents constantly opening the Ghost Portal for the conga-line of villainous Ghosts that he'd seen once at the doors. But at the same time, teachers who could help him understand his powers without asking him to follow in their villainous footsteps was a particularly tempting prospect. Normal high school? Not so much. But it'd be a step up from where he was at.

After nearly an hour of discussing the possibility including the information that boarding was free, thankfully, Danny's parents finally ascended from their work in the basement to find the four of them talking amicably.

A quick, watered-down explanation of the school and it's benefits, along with a 'scholarship' which was awarded to less academically-inclined students, Danny's parents had him signed up to go before they rushed off with some strange idea for yet another ghost-centric invention they absolutely **had** to try and make. Something about a 'Fenton Ghost Generator.'

Danny could only sigh as he felt his shoudlers slump a bit. Leave it to his ever neglectful parents to do something without even discussing it with HIM first. Seriously, they'd just asked a few questions and signed him up for it. At least they gave him a Fenton Crammer for packing. He'd hate to leave behind some of his personal projects. And his video games.

"Excellent." Charles smiled. "We only have one more person to talk to in Amity and we can get ready to go. If you'd like to pack, Mister Fenton, We shall be back with a car in a few days to allow you time to pack and say your farewells to your friends?" he offered, hoping that the young man would be amicable about it.

Danny nodded, "Yeah. Thanks. I should be ready to go within a few hours, honestly. Your supplies list is pretty easy to fill, and most of my stuff can be taken down quickly. You'd be amazed at how quickly one learns to live light when their house is always in danger of blowing up, shaking from the foundations, or even getting temporarily transported to another dimension." he's pretty certain he still had Alternate-Danny's Steely Dan CD.

Chapter end.

A/N: That's it for the teaser chapter. Testing the waters here. Thoughts? Compliments? Complaints? Poodles? I'll open a poll here, as well. Who should be the other student from Amity, and what should their mutation be? Should it be Tucker? One of the A-Listers? I'm partial to Tucker the Technopath, myself. And if there's no clear consensus on this? That's what I'll be going with. I've got plans for Sam, so she's off the table. And no, No Danny/Sam pairing. I hate that pairing, so please don't ask. I'll also open the floor to arguments for a pairing, though if Danny gets a pairing, and Tucker winds up going with him? Tucker gets one too. Poor Tucker, man. I imagine growing up tucker might well maintain a certain amount of immaturity, but he'd at least grow up a bit.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Seriously. This is the last time I'll say it? I'm writing fanfiction. I obviously own nothing of what I am writing.

A/N: This is the next chapter, obviously. I've gotten, like, 3 votes total on the pairing thing, and not much in the way of feedback on the 'other mutant from Amity.' So I'm just gonna roll with it. Poll's open on the pairing thing for a while. I'm not gonna rush into that shitstorm.

Danny was amazed to learn who the other mutant was. Seriously, amazed. No, it wasn't Tucker, though Danny was sure the guy was a mutant given his unseemly aptitude with technology, and Xavier said he was on the 'watch' list for potential mutants.

No. It was DASH he met with Professor Xavier, Ororro and Jean Grey when they were leaving. Dash. Fucking. Baxter.

"Fenton?" he looks just as shocked as Danny felt at seeing the 'school loser' identified as a 'fellow' mutant.

"Dash." Danny said, a note of resignment in his voice. Seemed that the universe couldn't let him go to a new school without bringing the number 1 bully with him.

"Mister Baxter's parents were quite forthcoming with their concern for their son's future, and going to a prestigious private school was a step in the right direction." Charles explained in that same gentle tone he always used.

Dash and Danny both settled for ignoring each other while they boarded the plane for New York, with only a few exchanged words between them. Most of it consisted of 'you forgot to check that' or 'watch your step.'

It was, quite possibly, the least antagonistic interaction they'd had in their entire high-school careers. It was almost refreshing.

When they were seated on the small private jet, Danny chose a window seat, imagining just phasing through the wall of the plane and flying alongside. He'd never been able to keep up with planes, but it'd be better than just sitting here in the awkward silence.

Sadly, the silence did not last long as Dash's voice rang through the air and caught Danny's attention from a passing cloud. "Fenton." He said.

"What, Dash?" he asked in return.

"So… You're a Mutant, huh? How long." He asked.

"Two years." Danny answered, figuring he might as well talk. Silence never sat well with him. He liked wither conversation or at least music to keep his mind occupied and away from the probable symptoms of PTSD growing from constantly being on guard for Ghost-attacks. "You?" he finished, asking his own question.

"About two weeks. Remember when Coach Sinders had to resign due to injuries during a practice? We were hitting the tackle-dummies pretty hard, and Kwan started goofing off, calling us all 'little girls' with how 'light' we were pushing against them… Something in me just snapped, man. Sext thing I know? The whole thing is flying across the field and the coach with it. Most os us just assumed it was a Ghost-thing. But after I nearly crushed my dad giving him a hug? I figured something was wrong…" he lifted up his shirt to show what looked like resistance training gear. "Now? I have to wear this thing just so I don't break a door down when I try to open it."

For the first time in a long time, Danny felt sympathy for the Jock. Something about uncontrollable powers resonated in him, reminding him of when he first exited the Ghost Portal and couldn't control his intangibility or his invisibility… Then Dash spoke again.

"Two years, man? Is that why for a while there you were clumsier than usual?" he asked. "And why over the last two years you've gone from utter wimp to passable?" At Danny's shocked look, the jock chuckled, "I'm stupid, not blind, Fenton. You've gotten a lot better over two years, and good at hiding it, but when it comes to bodies? I know what I'm doing. Funny isn't it? I fail nearly everything, but Biology just clicks in my head, you know? Your sister said I would make an excellent Physical Therapist when my football career was done. I laughed it off, but now? Looks like I've got to do something else with my life." There was a note of depression in his voice. The idea of losing what he'd trained for years to achieve, the idea of losing everything he'd thought his future would be…

Danny could relate. "Yeah." He said at last. "My powers don't lend themselves well to physical prowess, so I had to begin working out just to keep up."

"So, what? You psychic like the smokin' hot redhead and the Prof?" Dash asked, moving to sit closer to Danny and getting a genuine smile, for what felt like the first time in weeks as he talked to Danny about the shared difficulties of being a Mutant.

"Only slightly." Danny chuckled.

Then they both realized what was going on and glared at each other.

"Don't think this makes us friends." Danny said.

"Of course not." Dash nodded, "But that doesn't mean we can't hang out every once in a while. You've done some cool stuff, Fenton. And we need to show New York how awesome people from Amity Park are." He held out his hand.

Danny looked the hand over, trying to see if he could detect any obvious trap. Finding none, he tentatively took the offer and shook. "Rivals?" he offered.

"Rivals." Dash nodded.

The rest of the flight was considerably less awkward. Landing in New York was less exciting than Danny had thought it would be. The Avenger's Tower was visible in the Skyline, along with the usual landmarks and such.

"So," Danny spoke at last once they were in the car that was to take them to the school, "Are we going to have to give some kind of demonstration or something?" he asked. He'd been dreading 'showing off' in front of Dash since he'd seen the jock. As much as he didn't mind the thought of being open with his powers and capabilities, he was also leery of letting Dash know that he was, in fact, the 'local hero' of Amity Park.

"Not to worry, Mister Fenton." Ororo said with a grin, "We're here to help you learn how to control your powers, not force you to show off."

Dash chuckled, "What's the problem, Fenton? You afraid your powers won't match up to mine?" he asked through the grin as he flexed as much as the car would allow.

"No, Flash…" the Halfa sighed, "I'm more worried about collateral damage. My powers don't lend themselves well to 'subtle.' They're very visible, and very dangerous."

Dash noticed something in Danny's voice, a note of apprehension beyond what even HE felt at the thought of being a 'freak.' He'd been one of the worst voices among the anti-mutant sentiment before the accident. Now? He was among the people he'd derided and it wasn't comfortable, but he hid it under his usual bravado…

Danny, on the other hand, seemed to want nothing more than to hide his powers beyond even what dash himself was feeling. Not out of fear that it'd come out, though that was there… No. Danny was afraid of hurting others. He'd always marked it off as a weakness of his fellow student, but now? After two years of *Hiding* his powers, powers that Dash came to realize he could probably have used to make his life a living hell, he was still afraid of them.

/End of Chapter

A/N: I know. Dash, right? But I like to think the best of people. He's not a genius, he's not particularly smart, but I like to think that he'd grow up a bit over time. 2 years is a long time to maintain a stereotype, and I knew too many jocks in High School who were great friends of mine, so I refuse to believe that just because he's not overly smart, or that he's a jock, that he can't become a decent person. And 'Rivals' is better than 'bully and victim.'


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Don't ask, please. I own no references, I own no franchises… Though I'd totally fund Butch Hartman if he were to release a '10-years-later' Danny Phantom cartoon if he were to do a kickstarter of gofundme… Hell, .

A/N: So. It's been a while since this story got some love. Sorry for the delay on it. Been debating things, working, and inspiration struck for the Hot/Crazy Scale, which derailed all thoughts of this.

The first few days of Danny's stay at Xavier's Institute for Extraordinary Youngsters were… Interesting. That's the best way to put it. Danny was relieved to find out he wouldn't be expected to put on a show demonstrating his powers, save for the teachers in the Danger Room, and even then Professor Xavier was kind enough to exempt him from that, due to his overwhelming fear of both collateral damage and his identity as 'the ghost-kid from Amity Park' getting out. So instead he and the professor agreed it'd be best to keep it simple. Intangibility and Invisibility were what he was going with, along with an enhanced body due to ectoplasmic infusion, which explained why he had ectoplasm in his blood and could bench-press a car even while human.

Dash's mutant ability turned out to be very interesting, indeed. Physical aptitude was putting it mildly. He had, it seemed, no upper limit to physical strength, endurance and agility. The harder the trained? The stronger he got. But with no upper limit, it seemed what was happening was that his bones and muscles were, in fact, reinforcing themselves with a form of organic metal produced in his bone marrow. Miss Grey explained all of this to him, along with the added benefit, it seemed, of Dash having a latent psychic ability linked to the physical body. He could sense how others moved, how to improve upon those movements, and in some ways affect healthier cell reproduction. He'd be an amazing physical therapist, indeed. The fact that Dash was actually able to grasp what she was telling him about how his body functioned, and absorb the jargon she'd used rather quickly, simply helped to prove her point. Even Danny had gotten lost there.

Danny's own powers, in private examinations, were catalogued, recorded, and examined. It turned out that it was the misnamed 'X-Gene' that allowed Danny to survive the portal accident in the first place. One of the main features of the group of sequences that made up the 'X-Gene' section of the DNA strand was that it activated in response to a stressful environment, in most cases, to adapt the body to that situation accordingly. For Danny? It was what allowed the Ectoplasm to bond with his DNA and for him to survive the process without certain detrimental side-effects like a rapid-onset of dementia, ecto-acne, Ghost-sickness, or other such problems.

Danny was still a Half-Ghost, to be sure. But a stable one, unlike Vlad had been before the ecto-dejecto incident. It also explained why Danny could survive without going into the Ghost Zone frequently. His own body produced Ectoplasm as a natural byproduct, increasing with his emotional output. The big furry blue man named Hank, or 'Beast' as he was sometimes referred to, took a sample of ectoplasm with Danny's permission in order to study the naturally produced energetic substance.

Above all of the science? Danny at least had something to point to so he could explain how and why he'd become what he was. Miss Grey even theorized that eventually Danny's human and Ghost halves would 'merge,' for lack of a better term, as the two forms mixed and mingled more and more. They even rather quickly developed a wristband for him that would keep him from going intangible while it was on, cutting down on the risk of him sinking through a floor. It was mostly done by just having a small battery with a very light electric output attached to him, disrupting the electric signals that told his body to phase through matter… Apparently they had to use the same thing on another girl at the school, at one point, since she couldn't keep from phasing through her bed at night.

For once in recent months? Danny was NOT 'the strange one.' He wasn't stupid, and he wasn't incapable of sports, he wasn't the outlier in musical tastes… The Institute was varied enough that 'strange' by most standards was the norm, here… And he couldn't have felt more at home with that thought. He and Dash walked through the halls of the school those first few days, mostly just to watch each other's backs before they got settled in. Dash found himself almost instantly surrounded by other sports fanatics in the lounge-commons, watching Washington play the Steelers, while Danny sat comfortably alone at a table with a book.

The 'school' aspect of this palce certainly operated differently than a normal high school, with students in classes that fit their current level of ability, rather than being shoved in with people either more or less advanced than them. It was refreshing, if not for the fact that Danny's Grades had been slipping due to his 'night-job.'

Hopefully that would change with this new school, sicne there was no Ghost Portal to worry about… His parents had installed an iris in front of theirs that only opened when a spectral shield was in place so they could study safely, his father finally getting the idea that 'safe lab procedures' were a necessity, not a suggestion, and Vlad's portal had been shut down after the GiW had almost confiscated it. Say what you will about Vlad, but he was a vindictive and possessive man.

Needless to say? Danny had some catching up to do before the placement exams the teachers insisted upon so the two new mutants could be placed in classes accordingly. While Danny was pretty certain he could teach an electrical engineering course, a physics course, and probably high-school chemistry? His 'soft sciences' like English, art and even Social Studies were… Lackluster at best. Most of Danny's knowledge in the fields he was good at came from necessity, repairing his own gear, or designing entirely new things with the help of Tucker and Sam, his own experience testing ectoplasm to help out his parents, or his parent's telling him all about how certain ghost-hunting gear they designed worked.

Some of it had to sink in, and given they'd probably given him enough to fill a dozen college-level textbooks on electrical engineering and particle physics in lectures over the years?

So Danny was reading 'The Once and Future King' while he had the chance. Something about classical literature made him feel comfortable. Old words for old stories. One of the things he'd noticed soon after the accident was that he was not attracted to graveyards like one might expect, or repelled from churches or anything like that… His powers flowed more easily when around graveyards, and more difficultly when on Holy Ground… But no. He'd found himself more comfortable in antique shops. There was just something more 'real' to him about things that had been around for decades or centuries. New things were what made him feel itchy and uncomfortable. Not enough to really notice when he was in his human form, or to get in the way when he was in his ghostly alter-ego, but just enough to put him at ease. The echoes of time itself resonated from such objects, and they just seemed more solid to him than something new that hadn't been around for more than a year.

There were exceptions even to this rule, of course. Certain things carried with them emotional weight, like his sister's Albeart Einstein, and those things were comforting… But something about the weight of centuries was comforting.

It really made him wonder about Technus, and how the Technology Ghost could stand constantly being surrounded by machinery. Or Skulker for that matter, with his ghostly power-armor encasing him constantly.

But as he sat there, reading the book, Danny couldn't help but look up when he heard the sliding of chairs. His eyes met a pair of dark orbs set into a foreign face. Light hair, almost blond but hints of darker colors, framed a light-skinned smiling face.

"Hi there." The girl said, waving as she sat down. "My name's Amara, but most people call me Magma."

/End of Chapter

Post Script: What do ya'll think? I went a bit heavy into stuff other than story this time around. Lot of exposition and such. Not my favorite thing in the world to do, but still, necessary every once in a while. I'm more than happy to take comments and suggestions on how to do this better and more organically, but right now? This is the best I've got. I've got no beta reader, so… yeah. I'm kind of up shite creek with no paddle, boots, or even a boat. Just some rickety Huckleberry Finn raft thing. I decided to go with the version of Amara from Nova Roma, but I'm not all too familiar with her, sadly. And don't worry. Not the romance-interest. Just figured she was an interesting character who hardly ever gets any love. That and I didn't want to go with Pyro and Iceman, 'cause that just reeks of 'cliché!' Anyway, lemme know what ya'll think in the reviews. I'm getting better about doing at least 1,000 words per chapter…. Still, that's 1/10th of my preferred length. But I hope I'm making up for it in frequency… Ignore the 5 months sicne this story last got an update…


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Yep. Doing more of this one. Because I can. I own nothing. At all. If I did, I'd be doing something else with my life. I also own none of the pseudo-science babble.

After meeting the aptly named 'Magma,' Danny had finished the assigned reading for the class with her helping him through dissecting the language and interpreting things academically. One thing that kept coming up in his homework was that he always tried to identify with characters, and it showed in his analysis even when it was asked for him to be detached. Something in him just couldn't remove himself emotionally from the equation.

It was at night when Danny was most comfortable in the massive housing area of the school. He could wander the halls, floating invisibly along the corridors and through rooms as he wished, so long as he respected people's privacy. Occupied rooms were, obviously, off limits. It didn't stop him from running into sticky situations, though. Apparently one couple had made it their mission to explore all possible uses for a linen closet.

After that, Danny was always careful about WHERE he wandered at night. But that was it. His life consisted of his classes during the day, talking with Amara every so often during his breaks, calling home once a week to let everyone know the edited version of what was going on in his life, and floating through the halls invisible and intangible at night to get some ghostly exercise while the sun wasn't out.

His physical education courses were, ironically, not the worst classes he'd ever taken. Scott Summers was rather understanding as an instructor, and while he pushed people, he also understood when to stop.

Dash had excelled in Phys. Ed. Of course. He'd already gathered together a group of buddies who'd sit in the student lounge area every night and watch sports of one kind or another. Out of the seven of them, however, only two of them were particularly standoffish towards others. One was named Arthur, who seemed to take a perverse glee in using his mutant ability to give commands to make people do things for him when the instructors weren't looking, and the other was… Well, Dash. He'd certainly stopped physically picking on people, but he had picked up more than a couple bad habits from Arthur.

Around the two of them formed a group of the more physically-minded mutants at the school. Julian, a young man with dirty-blond hair standing at 7' tall and weighting close to 300lbs at age 16, who looked like he was built of solid muscle and spent most of his time outside of class at the gym bench pressing busses, was 'the quiet one.' While he enjoyed the sports he and his other friends watched, he'd be the last person standing up and cheering. That guy? He was a schemer. Danny could see it in his eyes. Displays of mutant powers were considered somewhat taboo outside of specific circumstances, for most students. But Julian took it to a whole new level. No one except the faculty knew what he could do beyond being stupidly strong. Not that Danny had any room to judge on that front.

The second was a redhead named Bruce, who while more wiry than the others was louder, more boisterous, and expressive than any three of them combined. Danny could see why Dash and Bruce got along so well. Dash could put his all into a wrestling match with bruce, and Bruce would take it all with a smile and then throw Dash across the room. He was the group's wrestling fanatic. Apparently his dad won the bronze in the Olympic triathlon one year. Oddly he got on with everyone and anyone. Something about the guy just seemed completely genial and friendly, despite his near-obsession with wrestling.

Danny could only watch as Dash found himself a group of friends nearly instantly with his interest in sports. It really brought home how much effort Danny had to put in to making anything like a friend. Tucker had been his friend since kindergarten, and Sam had joined in out of her own choices and TRYING to be an 'outcast.' He'd consider Amara the closest thing he had to a friend here, but she had her own 'inner circle' who she grouped with in most socializing time allowed to the students.

Danny was sitting quietly in the lounge, reading his math textbook and going through the equations assigned to make sure he got it done well before it was due, a habit he'd found over the last few weeks to be the single best strategy to keeping on top of the coursework, when he felt someone sitting nearby. Spatial awareness was a necessity in a fight when your life is on the line, after all.

He looked up and saw the massive form of Julian sitting next to him with a book titled "Into the Criminal Mind" by Adrianne Drake in hand. "Yo." The tall teen said before opening the book. "Hope you don't mind if I sit here. Got a bit too loud over on the couch." He nodded over to where he had been sitting.

Sure enough, the small group now one down was laughing and high-fiving and cheering as some man dressed in sparkly red shorts power-bombed a man in a blue leotard into the mat.

Danny shrugged. "Free world." He said as he went back to his equations.

"Indeed it is." The taller teen nodded. "But for how much longer, I wonder."

This got Danny's attention again, as he turned to the massive teen. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, a bit of wariness creeping into his voice.

"Magneto, terrorism, mass political corruption. All of them are leading to one inevitable outcome, but inevitability itself is a fallacy. All it'd take is one solid push, one way or the other, to get things on track for good or evil. And no one wants to give the world that push, save the ones rooting for the bad end because THEY hope that when the killing's done, they'll still be standing and can reshape society to their own wills." He shrugs, "Sorry. Sometimes I get a bit deep into things my girlfriend says. My name's Julian Drake, but everyone calls me Prophet." He held out a massive hand for Danny to take.

"Danny. No nickname yet." Danny replied, taking the hand as much as he could, his own hand vanishing in the grip of the much larger teen.

"I know. One of the reasons I came over here. You don't have many friends here, do ya?" Julian asked.

"Nah. New here and all. Always felt a bit off in crowds." Danny laughed, a note of embarrassment in his voice.

"I know the feeling. It's why I hang out with Arthur. He takes all the attention off of me. Dash too, now that he's joined in. Bruce is good for a distraction, at least. But here I thought you already had a nickname, Phantom." He ended in a whisper only Danny could hear.

Danny's heart stopped and he froze in position, his eyes trying to find some hint of uncertainty he might exploit within the words Julian just let slip. He didn't find any.

"Don't look so surprised. It didn't take much to put it together. Got pictures of your alter-ego, pictures of you, and a cheap photoshop knockoff. Overlap the pictures and the faces are a 97 percent match. Combine that with the powers you've been willing to share with people, invisibility and intangibility, and it's not hard to figure out. Not to mention Danny Phantom and Danny Fenton… Seriously. I'm not surprised Dash hasn't realized, but there HAD to be someone with two brain-cells to rub together in Amity Park."

Danny was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that within a few weeks he'd been found out. What would happen now? Would this guy tell Dash? Would he tell everyone else? Would it get out and get back to his parents? Or the GIW?

Julian just laughed at the look on Danny's face. "Here I thought you'd try to deny it. Ah well. There go my other carefully crafted explanations. Truth be told? I see him in you. Phantom, I mean. Overlaid with your normal form, I see you with white hair and green eyes. And it's not hard to put that together with the news articles."

Danny nodded. "You gonna tell anyone?" he asked, never quite feeling this small before, even given the physical differences.

"Hell no." he laughs. "I got bigger shit to worry 'bout. But I will give you some advice. People can be cruel, horrible monsters, just as much as any non-human entity or being. But we can also be wonderful, miraculous and forgiving." Julian smiled wide, "Here at the affectionately named 'Mutant High' you'll find a lot of people willing to look past many things. I don't think you're giving people enough credit."

Danny nodded, but still looked confused by the 'advise.'

"Just because they can't see you like I can? There're enough people familiar with hiding things that they know you're still holding back. That kind of feeling doesn't help with making friends." The larger teen nodded once before closing his book. "Have fun with that thought, short-stack. I've got a date and Lennox hates it when I'm late."

Danny blinked and Julian was gone, like he'd never been there.

Things just got a whole lot more complicated, but at least he felt like Julian was telling the truth when he said he wouldn't just randomly tell people who he was behind everything. But the thought worked its way into his brain.

Was he giving the mutants at Xavier's school too little credit? Was he actually damaging his chances at a social life by hiding everything?

Maybe. But he was still scared of what people might think if they knew he was the 'number 1 public menace' Danny Phantom.

Then again, apparently all of them had some trouble when their powers first manifested… Maybe he SHOULD give it a shot? He'd only have one shot at a good impression. Mutant-filled or not? It was still High School. A breeding ground for the politics that ruled the world and the outcasts who didn't partake.

He quickly finished his homework and went to Professor Xavier's office. Knocking on the door, he waited for a few moments before hearing the Professor's voice.

"Come in, Daniel." The Professor said. Inside he sat in his wheelchair with a stack of papers before him. "I was just finishing up with this week's essays before heading out. Miss Grey is going to be speaking at the Senate tomorrow, and I wanted to be there for moral support."

Danny nodded, still cringing at being called 'Daniel.' "Sorry to bother you, professor. I just wanted to talk about our arrangement. About my anonymity…. Do you think it's…. I don't know…" he sighed, not knowing how to phrase the thoughts in his head.

"You think it might be damaging your chances at a social life." Prof. Xavier nodded. "I can understand the concern. I believe that it may. Many people know not to ask too much about their fellow mutant's home-life, or pry too deeply into one another's issues. But at the same time it does make sense that some of the more observant students might notice you are hiding something from everyone."

Danny sighed in resignation. Hearing it from one person was bad enough, especially when that person had figured out his secret on their own, but from an authority figure it made it more… Real. "I see. Thanks, Professor." He said, a note of dejected resignation in his voice.

Prof. Xavier smiled, "Do not worry about it too much, Mr. Fenton. Only you can decide if it is right to tell people more about yourself, and only when you are comfortable with doing so. If and when you do? I have no doubts that you will be surprised by just how many people are willing to overlook indiscretions made from youthful arrogance or ignorance." He smiled wider. "I know, for one, that I am proud of all those who come here to learn, and wish to do good with their powers."

/End chapter.

A/N: Yup. For the sake of reference, I'm keeping Julian's powerset somewhat mysterious, because I haven't quite pinned him down, and I like it that way so long as I don't go overboard. Julian, Arthur and Bruce are OCs, because I felt like it. Arthur's a vocal mind-controller limited to simple commands, Bruce meanwhile is a mid-level super-strength mixed with electric manipulation, which ties into his strength based on 'supercharging' his muscles. Julian is… 'weird' in the words of Agent Hill.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: You know the drill. I own nothing.

A/N: For some reason this story is stuck in my brainmeats. Hence the repeat update. Still working on the others, but When Did This Happen appears to be reaching the end of its usable life as a thought-experiment. Ghost of a Chance is still growing in my head, and I'm willing to take suggestions on characters to include in the inevitable Harem (It's actually part of the universe. I'm not even joking.) Hot/Crazy Scale is progressing, but slowly. Feel free to PM me with suggestions, comments or suggestions on the stories. Places you'd like to see them go, ideas you have for them, or…. Hell, copy/Pasta part of or the whole story and make your own endings! Or Omakes! I don't mind anything so long as I'm at least mentioned!

/Run Chapter

His first days of class were spent with a lot of introductions. To teachers, to classmates, etcetera. He'd been told not to advertise his powers, since using them outside of controlled circumstances was not allowed for safety reasons (Exceptions were made for mutants whose powers were either always on or random in nature, but there were protective circumstances for those.) He still told when ask that his powers included invisibility and phasing. The other students were quite welcoming, from his viewpoint at the time.

He listened as the instructor spoke on the equation they were looking at for the next few days and watched as some surreptitious uses of people's powers were displayed. One young man kept freezing another's lighters… The strange fixation on fire was less than inspiring for the cold-focused Phantom, but those two were hardly the only ones who stood out to the Halfa's eyes. So many of the powers, Danny had seen replicated by Ghosts in various ways though with eerie thematic effects added in. Much more obvious.

One young woman wrote her notes without even holding the pen or paper. On closer inspection Danny saw that she was doing this on several notebooks while she paid half an ear to the lecture while the other ear was occupied by a well-hidden Bluetooth headphone. One of her notebook-projects appeared to be the homework for the day, when Danny looked at the listed assignment on the blackboard at the end of class.

"I see you've noticed our resident math-genius." A male voice caught his attention as he packed up his notes and books. It was the young man who'd been keeping the pyromaniac from lighting his book on fire with small bursts of ice.

"Yeah. I thought I was decent at math, but she looked like she was writing a novel, doing the homework and taking notes on the lecture all at once." Danny said with an embarrassed grin.

"I don't think she was writing a novel… Maybe. But she probably was doing the homework. For the lesson." The young man nodded. "I'm Bobby, by the way. People around here call me Iceman for obvious reasons." The now-identified Bobby said as he twirled his fingers creating a swirl of cold air between them.

"Danny Fenton. No nickname yet. Kinda want to keep it that way for the time being." He shrugged.

Bobby got a look in his eyes that told Danny that, apparently, would not stand. "Oh, come on. Everyone gets a nickname, dude." He smiled wide as he thought. "So, what're your powers? No, wait, don't tell me. You can…" he seemed to think for a moment. "Shoot lazer beams out of your fingertips, lift a train engine one-handed, fly and are invulnerable?" he asked, looking Danny over. The joking tone was obvious to anyone listening.

Danny laughed, partially out of nervousness. He wasn't *too* far off. He'd never tested to see just how strong he was in Ghost form. Kinda hard when the Ghost Zone's resident workout nut also wanted to have you stuffed and mounted, and also used a mechanical suit. "Not quite. I can turn invisible and phase through objects." He said… Then the words of the professor caught up to him. This was the first time in a few weeks he'd actually been talking to someone. He'd gotten into his classes and tried to ignore everything else, including his own discomfort and the distance he'd inadvertently created with others…

The Professor's words rung out in his mind. "You don't need to be afraid of your fellow students. Everyone has things they are not proud of."

Danny squared his shoulders and sighed. "Among other things." He said. "Flying is a good feeling. I'm not invulnerable, but I can pass through most anything. Minor psychic abilities, and Cryokinesis… Again, among other things. My list of abilities keeps growing. Not sure how strong I actually am."

Bobby's smile went wide, "Wow! Jack of all trades, much? Nice to know I'm not the only cool head around here." He said with a laugh and a friendly hand on Danny's shoulder. "I'd call you 'Jack-of-All' but I think that's taken." He took on a sagacious look and spoke extra formally, "This will require some thought, my good man. We shall convene in the room of Refreshments with others of like mind and wit to discover your code name!"

Without even a 'by your leave' Bobby pulled Danny along with him to the cafeteria. This was probably the most anyone had gotten out of the new kid aside from Amara; who rumor was he had a crush on, Dash; who supposedly only hung around him because of their shared hometown; or Prophet… No one understood that one.

So when he pulled Danny to a table occupied by a group of teenagers, Bobby began introductions as though nothing at all was wrong. He'd milk this chance to get the new kid out of his shell for all it was worth!

"Danny." He began, "I'd like you to meet a group of fine young mutants like ourselves. Of course we've got Pyro, or as I like to call him 'john.'" Said boy lit a lighter, the flame forming a clenched hand with an extended middle finger. "Then we've got the lovely Jubilation Lee, or Jubilee, in the striking yellow jacket and goggles number." He gestured to the girl, who waved kindly to the new kid. "And our resident technopath, Jones." He gestured to the boy sitting farthest away from the open spots at the table, who blinked and Danny felt his phone vibrate, showing a text message. All it said was 'hello!' with a smiley face.

Bobby laughed, "He does that. Next up we have Artie Maddicks." He gestured to the youngest student in the group, who displayed a forked tongue.

Danny nearly shat himself when he heard the voice in his head, not his own or the Professor's.

"Hello, Danny." The voice said. It didn't take much to put two and two together to get four. Artie was a telepath… A low end one, given that his presence in Danny's mind wasn't nearly as intense as Professor Xavier's was.

"Hello, Artie." He thought back, projecting his mental 'voice' a little to reach across the space between himself and Artie.

Artie's eyes lit up for a moment and the feeling of excitement came through the tenuous telepathic link. "Oh! I can feel you in my mind, dude!" the youngster said in an excited mental tone. "That is SO cool! Telepaths for life, right?"

Danny chuckled, mentally and out loud. "Telepaths for the win, Artie. Not my strong suit, but one of many."

Bobby and the others were grinning while Danny and Artie had their 'talk' in their heads. But Bobby wanted to finish his introductions!

"Anyways. This lovely young woman is Theresa, or as we like to call her 'Syrin.'" He finished.

Pyro glared at Bobby before growling out, "Why do you call HER by Syrin and yet refuse to call me Pyro?"

Bobby shrugged. "Because you keep littering my side of the room with your CDs?" he offered nonchalantly.

Danny laughed along with the others, save Pyro who grumbled and groused about the unfairness of it all before getting back to eating.

"So!" Bobby began, sitting down in one of the open chairs next to Syrin and trying to keep the conversation going. "Danny here doesn't have a nickname yet. He said his powers were kind of diverse, but wouldn't go into too many specifics. Invisibility, Phasing, etcetera." He waved his hand from side to side in an uncaring gesture to show the list went on. "Now, I was thinking something like 'Ghost.'" He said.

Danny nearly choked on his soda.

Syrin scoffed. "Please. So unoriginal, Bobby."

Jubilee nodded, "Yeah. So not cool."

Bobby seemed to visibly deflate, but then laughed. "You got me. That was pretty bad, wasn't it?" he asked, looking to the others.

Laughter almost drowned out Danny's response. It took everything in him to say it. Something he'd kept secret for years from everyone. Something he'd only told three people. Two other people had figured it out, through no fault of his own… But seeing as one was Vlad and the other was his somehow-female clone? Kinda hard to not count them…

"Phantom." He said, just loud enough to carry over the combined laughter and catch attention. "I lied. I had a nickname back home. Phantom."

The group looked at him like they'd walked in on his duplication practice and found him with two heads, an extra arm, and four legs.

Pyro, ever the one to know this kind of thing, spoke up first. "Wait." He began. "THE Phantom? Danny Phantom?" he asked, looking Danny over. "No. Fucking. Way."

Bobby laughed, "Dude. Pyro's a big fan of yours. I've seen the poster of you he's got…" then a thought hit him. "DUDE!" he almost shouted with an amused almost-affronted look on his face. "Why didn't you TELL me? Here I was thinking you didn't have a nickname, but you had one all along!? Not cool, man."

Danny laughed, trying to keep his nerves under control. His bracelet shocked him several times before his intangibility stopped acting up as his body wanted nothing more than to sink into the floor and vanish. "Sorry." He said between chuckles. "It's not something I like to advertise. Press for me hasn't always been the best."

Pyro shook his head, "Dude. You're a goddamned Icon. Do you have any idea how many people look up to Phantom? While we're here, hiding in a school, you were out there kicking ass! Saving people and probably getting ALL kinds of-OOF!" he was cut off as Jubilee elbowed him.

"Please ignore the last part, Danny." Jubilee said through clenched teeth. "But the majority is right. Phantom's kind of a legend among the students here."

Danny was, at once, confused and elated. Yeah, he had fans in the form of Dash (Ironically) and the A-listers and most of the High School crowd who'd ostracized him while he was just 'Fenton.' But to hear that his new school was similar, for slightly different reasons, was… Concerning, but nice. Maybe hiding who he was back home and what he could do… Maybe it wasn't the best choice? Still, he didn't like advertising it. Normal people tended to react badly. Normal, fully-living people, specifically...

/Run Author's Notes:

That's the first update of mine in a few months. it feels good to finally write this out. Kinda wanted to get past the obligatory 'Danny hides who he is, then gets found out!' archs, because I just dislike them. In this case? he simply took Xavier's words to heart, let his balls drop and took the plunge! granted, the school's 'mutant school' part was a hidden aspect from the outside world, so it's a relatively controlled environment. But I rather liked the thought of Danny Phantom being a minor legend among the students at Xavier's, which is part of the reason XAvier encouraged Danny to not hide it...

As always, Read/Review/Poodles. Poll:

Who should Danny's long-term friends among the Mutants be? Like, who does he join/form a Team with? Non-mutants are acceptable for this. Deadpool is not, since I cannot do that magnificent bastard justice.


End file.
